Just like their global peers, GCC businesses are of the view that investment in technology is a strategic way to achieve goals, and more than 80 per cent of Saudis, Emiratis and Qataris say success of decision making process is dependent on better use of data.

The regional and global findings on technology investment were revealed this week by IT service provider EMC Corporation. It released the results of a global survey that asked thousands of IT decision makers from 50 countries for their perspective on the challenges and opportunities that big data and IT transformation – and related skills – can present to their companies.

The IT Transformation survey was also conducted across key markets in the Middle East including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where a majority of respondents reported a positive outlook to Big Data adoption and IT Transformation.

Over the past six months this research polled more than 10,700 business and IT management and executives, technical architects, data scientists and storage/infrastructure managers from a range of industries who registered to attend their local EMC Forums.

Hélène Barnekow, Senior Vice President of World Wide Field & Partner Marketing, EMC Corporation, says: “We weren’t surprised to see that three-quarters of businesses see IT as key to meeting their goals in the next two years – after all, IT can help businesses find efficiencies in a challenging economic climate while providing a platform for innovation for products and customers.

“It was surprising however to see that one-third of businesses are not considering Big Data solutions – we expect this to change in the near-term as individuals and companies hear more about the transformative benefits that are achievable with Big Data analytics technology. The survey also reminds us that to realize the full benefits of IT Transformation, organizations must transform the technology layer while transforming the people and process layers.”

Key Findings:

As companies continue to look to IT innovation compete locally and on the global stage:

76% of global respondents reported that their business believes technology investment is a strategic way to achieve its goals. (86% UAE Saudi Arabia vs 77% Qatar)

87% of respondents in the UAE , 85% in Qatar and 88% of respondents in Saudi Arabia reported that decisions in their organization could be improved with a better use of data

The top three drivers for the transformation of IT systems and infrastructure are:

1) Better Business Processes

2) Improved Governance and Compliance

3) Develop new routes to market/selling strategies

66% of respondents report that they have the correct level of skills and knowledge in place to complete their business priorities successfully. (79% in the UAE, 74% in Saudi Arabia vs 78% in Qatar)

Three quarters of respondents report that ensuring skills keep pace with the rate of IT innovation will be a challenge for their organizations over the next three years. (79% UAE, 81% Saudi Arabia vs 80% in Qatar)

A majority of respondents agree that IT is now equipped to handle the most essential business priorities – and that now, the biggest barrier to coping with business priorities is cultural. (75% UAE, 81% Saudi Arabia vs. 76% Qatar)

The global survey found that Big Data is giving rise to markedly improved decision making and is having a significant impact on companies’ competitive differentiation and ability to avert risk.

The study also found that 56% of respondents globally believed that Big Data technology will prove vital in identifying and protecting against cyber-attacks. (, 67% in the UAE, 73% in Saudi Arabia and 74% in Qatar )

Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, EMC Corporation, says: “As reported by the findings of the survey conducted in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, many enterprises across the region have already set out to virtualize and create cloud-enabled businesses, some are ahead of the curve for the software defined infrastructure.A majority of enterprises surveyed have ambitious plans around the adoption of big data and are looking to engage advanced analytics capabilities to proactively influence consumer buying behavior, enhance the customer experience, optimize costs and resources and sustain a long term a competitive advantage. The results of this survey highlight just how rapidly the Middle East market has evolved and matured in terms of IT priorities and supporting investment.EMC is proud to be a part of this ever evolving community and will continue to work with our partners and customers across the region to drive the adoption of intelligent technologies even further to help create a firm foundation for future growth and support ambitious government visions to create knowledge based economies across the Middle East.”

-source trendsmena.com

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